10 April 2014: The 66th session of the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC) of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) granted Basic Approval to four, and Final Approval to two, ballast water management systems that make use of Active Substances. The Committee also reviewed work under the Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships, 2009.

As part of its work on ballast water management systems, the Committee reviewed the status of the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast Water and Sediments, 2004. The Committee urged States, which have not yet done so, to ratify the Convention. The Committee also approved a ballast water management-related guidance and requested the Secretariat to explore the possibility of conducting a study on the implementation of the ballast water performance standard.

The MEPC considered the report of a correspondence group, which was tasked with developing threshold values and exemptions within the Inventories of Hazardous Materials under the Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships, 2009. The Committee agreed that further work on this issue was needed.

The 66th session of the MEPC took place at IMO headquarters in London, UK, from 31 March to 4 April 2014. The 67th session of the MEPC will take place from 13-17 October 2014 at the same venue. [IMO Press Release, 7 April 2014] [IMO Press Release, 8 March 2014]